1867.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 45 



one that it found existing, or that, discarding its own alphabet, it 

 arbitrarily invented one totally different, while the rest of the horde, 

 pressing on southwards, retained and cherished their own. 



If, on the other hand, the two branches be looked upon as two separate 

 emigrations, one before and one after the supposed invention of the 

 Aryan Alphabet, then we are to suppose that, passing through countries 

 settled by their own race, speaking their own tongue but using an 

 adopted alphabet, the southern branch of the Aryans yet carried to 

 their own remoter settlement, and preserved there, their newly in- 

 vented character. Improbable as this latter supposition was, it was 

 rendered still more so by the fact that the two alphabets gave 

 expression to identically the same language ; and it was not likely 

 that a second emigration, coming forth from its parent root after the 

 lapse of time necessary to perfect the invention and use of an alphabet, 

 and after the great social change effected by the conversion of a 

 spoken into a written alphabet, should carry with it identically the 

 same language as the earlier emigration. 



There remained another possible supposition, which had not been 

 noticed by Rajendra Lai, viz., that one or both of the two alphabets 

 were invented by the Aryan race after they reached India. But in the 

 first place, it is impossible to believe that the same people setting 

 about to invent an alphabet, should have invented two totally different, 

 or that if one was borrowed from existing sources, they should set 

 about to invent another while one was existent and ready to hand. 



Lastly , as a matter of fact, the Bactro-Pali at least was pretty 

 clearly borrowed : it was closely allied to, — in some forms and in its 

 modes of numeration, almost identical with, — certain Semitic forms of 

 writing of very great antiquity, which were once in use on the shores 

 and in the islands of the Mediterranean. 



Practically, therefore, there was located in India an Aryan race, 

 using a language which is in fact common to all its tribes, a fact 

 which may be accepted as showing that they entered India at 

 dates not very remote, or under very different circumstances. Of 

 this branch the Northern portion, when settled on the road which the 

 rest of the tribes must have traversed on their way towards Central 

 and Southern India, used a borrowed character ; and the most probable 

 inference seems to be that the character used by the other is 



